Page 45 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2024

Onion seedlings potted up
fertiliser or grown in pots or growbags. They may have been potted into larger pots before they were ready for planting.
Asparagus is another crop that can be planted now, and I described the method last month.
In the flower garden, perennials can be planted and also gladioli corms. These are planted about 6 inches (15cm,) deep, 12 inches (30cm.) apart and I put some coarse sand in the holes to assist drainage. Sweet peas can also be planted.
If you grow Chrysanths or dahlias and started them into growth earlier, as I suggested, there should
be cuttings ready for
Dahlias potted up
especially for the purpose) and plant the seedlings 2 inches (5cm.) apart. Stand the tray on the staging and keep it watered.
If you sowed hardy annuals last month in the beds where you want them to flower the seedlings will need thinning out to a
If you have any roses, it is time to give them a feed. Use a feed that has been formulated especially for roses. Just sprinkle it round the bushes and gently hoe or rake it in.
taking. I said last month
that some may be ready
but there should be a lot
more now. I described
last month how to take
the cuttings. If you have
no facilities for taking
cuttings, dahlia tubers
can be planted outside
towards the end of the
month. You can also split
them up if you want to increase your stock. They won’t stand any frost so plant them fairly deep so that the shoots won’t show above the ground till late May or June when there is no chance of frost.
If you did take any cuttings in March, they should be rooted sometime this month. They need potting into 3-inch (7.5cm.) pots using any good potting or multipurpose compost. They don’t need to be on a warming bench or in a propagator now so just stand them on the greenhouse staging or on a shelf. While on the subject of Chrysanths, they are prone to a disease called white rust which disfigures the leaves. You need to spray regularly with a good fungicide from now on.
If you grow half-hardy annual flowers,
I said that some benefit from an early
start in February, but the majority are
sown in March. Whenever they were
sown, they should be ready for” pricking out” sometime this month. This means transferring the seedlings, when they are large enough to handle into other trays or boxes using a good potting or multipurpose compost. Level the compost with a flat board (I have made one with a handle on
Sprouting broccoli growing well
Any plants raised in a greenhouse need hardening off in cold frames before planting out
few inches apart
then later to their final positions.
Last month I mentioned sowing cabbages and cauliflowers in small
pots. When the seeds germinate they should be reduced to one per pot. When the roots have filled these small pots I pot them into 5 inch (12.5cm) pots. These plants are prone to clubroot which swells the roots and
hinders growth. Potting into larger pots helps to prevent the disease. They will be larger plants when planted out and the roots have a larger volume of compost to occupy before reaching the soil.
Potatoes planted with lawn mowings in the trench
Simply Vegetables 45